There has been a rapid increase in the use of on-line data service providers, especially internet or intranet service providers. Such use has caused a sharp increase in telecommunication connect times--time during which a telecommunication connection is maintained though a telecommunication switching instrumentality or central office switch--from a user's personal computer (PC) to an ISP. Such telecommunication connections are usually placed on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Such long connect times have increased to the point at which degradation in the telephone and telecommunication services provided to the general public has become noticeable. Local telephone companies must maintain a reasonable level of service in accordance with mandates from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the several state utilities commissions. Similar situations are arising or will arise anywhere in the world.
A large part of the technological and managerial frustration with the long connect times through the PSTN switches is due to the fact that an enormous portion of that connect time between the on-line users and their ISPs is idle time. Such idle time usually occurs after the user has placed a query through the user's ISP and is waiting for a response from the on-line service provider's database or from a remote internet server or internet presence. Such long periods of delay between the placing of a query and its response mandates that a part of the PSTN switch that serves the user must be "tied up" and unavailable to serve other telecommunications customers during the inevitable long idle periods during which the connection between the user and the ISP must be maintained but carries no genuine traffic). Such telecommunication connections are usually from the user to a local point of presence (POP) of the ISP and thus do not yield such toll revenues to the local telephone company as would justify such protracted use of a switched connection merely to maintain that connection in an idle state.
Maintaining desirably prompt service levels to all telecommunications users is thus necessitating the installation of what might be considered excessive switching capacity in the PSTN. Failure to keep pace to increase the capacity to handle telecommunications traffic can inconvenience all users of the PSTN; because, that inefficient use of the PSTN degrades the ability of everyone to make telephone and other telecommunication calls. Also, enhancement of the PSTN to accommodate increased idle time increases cost to the Local PSTN Carriers, which eventually leads to increased cost to all telecommunication end users.
A large portion of the time that a user is logged into an ISP is spent either waiting for a response from an ISP's local POP or is spent reviewing "on line" information gathered from a remote server. If this user-waiting time can be eliminated or seriously reduced, both the PSTN carriers and the general telecommunications-using public will be much better served.
One way of minimizing idling lines on the PSTN is to identify telecommunications connections that are intended for an on-line service provider or other data server and switching, diverting or off-loading such calls from the PSTN switching instrumentality to a dedicated data network which is associated with the PSTN. Exemplary solutions are disclosed in a co-owned, copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/980,534, filed on Dec. 1, 1997, in the names of Shou-Huey Jiang, et al. and in another co-owned, copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/982,155, filed on Dec. 1, 1997, in the names of William G. Fair, et al. Another such solution is disclosed in still another co-owned, copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/990,941, filed on Dec. 15, 1997, in the names of Sridhar Rao, et al.